A groundbreaking discovery has revealed the presence of a blazar—a supermassive black hole with a jet pointed directly at Earth—at an extraordinary redshift of 7.0. The object, designated VLASS J041009.05−013919.88 (J0410−0139), is the most distant blazar ever identified, providing a rare glimpse into the epoch of reionization when the universe was less than 800 million years old.
Recent News
ALMA and the Event Horizon Telescope: Moving Towards a Close-Up of a Black Hole and its Jets
An international research team has shown that the Event Horizon Telescope will be able to make exciting images of a supermassive black hole and its jets in the galaxy NGC 1052. The measurements, made with interconnected radio telescopes, also confirm strong magnetic fields close to the black hole’s edge.
Black Hole Explorer Hopes to Reveal New Details of Supermassive Black Holes
Anew agreement between the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) and the U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) will help the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) take its next steps – into space.
Visit by U.S. members of Congress to ALMA
A delegation of members from the United States House of Representatives visited the ALMA Observatory on April 4th. This visit was organized by the US Embassy in Chile, Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) — the North American partner in the observatory — and ALMA.
There were a total of 13 representatives from the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, accompanied by family members, staff and embassy personnel. This committee oversees the National Science Foundation´s (NSF) budget, which in turn funds North American ALMA operations.
On behalf of the NSF, AUI and ALMA, the following persons hosted the delegation in Chile: Dr. Phil Puxley, NSF program manager; Adam Cohen, AUI president; Dr. Sean Dougherty, ALMA director; and Paulina Bocaz, AUI/NRAO representative in Chile.
The delegation visited ALMA to understand and see first hand the most sought-after astronomical observatory in history. “With more than 6,000 registered users and 1,600 proposals annually, ALMA´s images and spectra of the cool and distant Universe are continuously breaking new scientific ground,” stated Phil Puxley.
The delegation toured the array operations site at 5,000 meters (16,500 feet) above sea level, where the antennas are located. Once back at the base camp (2,900 meters/9,500 feet), they visited the laboratories, offices and living quarters and heard presentations from the ALMA deputy director, Dr. Stuartt Corder and the observatory scientist, John Carpenter.
About AUI/NRAO
Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) is a U.S. non-profit corporation, which operates the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), the Green Bank Observatory (GBO) and the Long Baseline Observatory (LBO) under cooperative agreements with the National Science Foundation (NSF). NRAO facilities include the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico and the North American portion of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile. For further information please visit: www.aui.cl
Contact
Sergio Cabezón
EPO Officer AUI/NRAO in Chile
[email protected]
+56977676197
Recent News
Astronomers Detect Earliest and Most Distant Blazar in the Universe
A groundbreaking discovery has revealed the presence of a blazar—a supermassive black hole with a jet pointed directly at Earth—at an extraordinary redshift of 7.0. The object, designated VLASS J041009.05−013919.88 (J0410−0139), is the most distant blazar ever identified, providing a rare glimpse into the epoch of reionization when the universe was less than 800 million years old.
ALMA and the Event Horizon Telescope: Moving Towards a Close-Up of a Black Hole and its Jets
An international research team has shown that the Event Horizon Telescope will be able to make exciting images of a supermassive black hole and its jets in the galaxy NGC 1052. The measurements, made with interconnected radio telescopes, also confirm strong magnetic fields close to the black hole’s edge.
Black Hole Explorer Hopes to Reveal New Details of Supermassive Black Holes
Anew agreement between the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) and the U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) will help the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) take its next steps – into space.